I use portion control for loosing weight. I have been successful 2 times before at loosing massive amounts of weight. (March 2003 - March 2005 I lost 165ilbs.) As part of this, I used frozen meals such as: Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Hungry Man, Healthy Choice, Marie Calendar..etc (I also ate soups, stopped eating sugar, bread, condiments like Mayo, increased my vegi intake and drank unsweetened tea, water, V8, coffee.) My snacks included small portions of fresh fruit or tuna and crackers. (tuna can be made better with diced tomatoes and herbs/chives/onions.) I ate nothing after 5pm. The thing is if you do this it must be a life change in order to keep the weight off. The human body is symmetrical. Different parts of the body are the same length or size of other parts. If one considers this the true then it is not hard to imagine the human stomach is suppose to be the size of ones loosely clinched fist -- which makes sense. How are we born? A porter house steak would not fit in that tummy at any time until .... well ?? Makes you wonder. The idea is to have portion control and variety. http://www.beaumont.edu/health-library/P06956 http://www.livestrong.com/article/478136-prepackaged-meals-for-losing-weight/ http://www.conagrafoodsscienceinstitute.com/pdfs/lunch-poster.pdf
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FRIDAY!!! :) WoW! Another week gone! I have been getting rid of the extra furniture and clearing out the extra junk. It will make moving to the 1 br easier. I still have no idea if I am going to stay in this building or go to another, but faithfully I know it will be ok where ever it is.
Bytchin a Bit - Forgive me: I am becoming an insomniac - I can't seem to get to sleep at night. The seasons are changing and the weather changes drastically fast, so that is normal. The anxiety and panic attacks I am having recently are driving me nuts. (that is a short trip - :) Truly I went back on Abilify just to get a reign on the issue. I also am adjusting to the Effexor again after years of being on a different anti-depressant. I hope I can get a handle on the extreme anxiety (it is the same feeling you would have if you suddenly woke up and found a man with an ax getting ready to chop you up in your sleep standing over you.) It goes on for hours and can be really crippling if you allow it to be. I know/realize it is a serious chemical imbalance and is irrational, so I force myself to do the things I need to do. That is very hard, but I am proof it can be done. Hopefully, the medication change will be enough to get it under control. Until it does though it is seriously important for me to pick my battles carefully, monitor and limit my interactions with others (dual care - for all of us) and rest. Some say the mentally ill do not know they are ill. Often they know and are in denial. They feel as if the diagnosis is one they can do nothing about - much as cancer was 40 years ago. With a bit of education and proactive self care management as well as stability becomes possible for most. Therapy and meds are not a win win or huge joy, but they are massively important if one has serious issues an wants that stability to become a reality. I have maintained stability since 2006. There have been maybe 3 times since I needed to go in and have meds and services adjusted, but really that is just part of the maintenance process. It is not a failure - just an adjustment. While many are talking about violence, gun control, and the impact of the society's issues on the children coming up, it is massively important that the stopping the silence about violence public campaign encourage the survivors to tell their stories. Not for the benefit of the survivor, but to save those trapped in the situations we so want to stop. We can't fix what we don't know. There s no shame in keeping or making the drama tame. We must make this a conversation - "for what is done in the dark shall indeed be found in the light." <-- Jesus New American Standard Bible (©1995) Practical wisdom would have that make perfect sense. How many do you know who get up in the morning and say "Wow I feel so good!!! I am going to the doctor and have him run tests and find something wrong." That's crazy? Yes I think I concur. It is off the beaten path.
The idea though makes you think why would someone say that. It's not meant as a waist of good wind. It is easy not to see there are cracks in our own armor. We see everyone else's cracks and short falls. Judge were maybe the whole story is not known. We do not always know what others are going through. I think misunderstanding is a huge issue in peoples lives today. Rape, incest, violent physical and sexual assaults can leave their mark on the soul of the survivor. Nothing is the same for survivors. It takes time to find what some would call a new normal. It takes therapy to work through issues. It takes patience. and other forms of therapy to make life as "new normal" as possible. People will ask dumb questions, think you are lying, and tell others what unflattering things they think. You can not change that. What you can do is take care of you.. That is the idea I want to promote as practical. People who have no idea need no help and are seeking none. Sadly their counsel is worthless for they have no reference. It is important to remember that even among survivors each experience is different and what works for one may not for the other, but we are empowered by each others model of strength regardless of where they are in their survivorship. They did what they were suppose to do when attacked - they survived. Always try to realize the only things that can be controlled are what pertains to you including: location,attire, attitude, friends, demographics, behavior, and thought process. An abusive spouse, child, boyfriend, parent, or coworker is not going to change unless some drastic life altering experience happens and then real change is only temporary. The odds of them turning their life around to stop the abuse is astronomically against them. (Not saying it can't happen but being realistic.) An example I have seen played out over and over happened to me also. My first husband took a wife a few years after our divorce. She was a pleasant woman. She touted how he was a changed man. He had quit drinking. He loved her. He'ld never hurt her. I felt badly for her and she would call me from time to time months after they were married. They had usually been fighting and she just needed to talk. My heart always went out to her. She would start telling me about the argument and I could tell her verbatim what he said, what he did, and what he tried to do to her over the issue. He never learned any lesson. He just calmed down enough to suck in someone to his drama. I have never seen a spider packing a 357 magnum, yet they are proficient in their hunting skills and rarely miss their prey. Abusers are that way. They can be good for a while. When you are where they want you then they groom and work their sad pathology. I think for some it is subconsciously morphed, yet for others - the very worst it comes from a warped sense of entitlement that causes them to plan their misery on their captives. (Believe me I have the terminology right.) They consciously choose to be a control freak and dictate every minuet detail of their victims life. If you find yourself in an abusive situation find your way out. Even if it means packing a duffel bag and catching a bus to another city or state and getting in a shelter for battered or abused women/men. If you have children involved then you may want to do the same or choose to have him/her removed from the home so that the children can remain in a the home while a divorce or separation gets in place. Make sure if you choose to get away to not get caught planning, preparing, or leaving. The abuser out of a need to regain control escalate and intensify the bad behavior. It is always best to leave when they are gone. Try to not allow them to know where you are going to be for a few days as a cooling period. If there are no children involved then cease all contact. If children are involved begin the legal process quickly to protect them. Be passionate, but patient, the court system is not the best, but it is all we have at the moment. A good attorney goes a long way. (When I left my first husband I was homeless nearly 2 weeks with my children.) I finally broke back into the house and took my MasterCard. I secured an apartment, the utilities on, and groceries for the children. I prayed fervently and found a third shift job three days a week that paid the bills and bought a few groceries. The children and I lived there a month before I called their father's parents and gave them my phone number. I told them he could have the number, BUT I would only answer the phone if he called from their home. (This kept him behaving - his father and mother would not have tolerated him acting badly.) I also took the children to see his parents after the second month. I had filed for a divorce and primary custody. My first husband so shaken from the absolute lose of his family and the expectation of his parents that he corrected the issue and began to be on a better plane of behavior. This is how my journey with him went. He behaved much better after all that. He became rough with the kids once years later and that was straightened out quickly. That for me showed abusers never change. They fain they have no ability to control their behavior, or the one I like is "I just snapped - you made me so angry! I don't remember what I did." Well they may "loose control" with a woman or a child, but the same individual doesn't even think of "loosing control" with a 6'6" 300lb man who can slap the taste out of their mouth. They will just stand there and take whatever is dished out.. They honestly know what they are doing, they know it is wrong and they like the results of getting what they want when they want it. The ones who "need no physician" for they are well, often never change their patterns for they believe they are entitled to get what they want by any means necessary. If you can foresee the end of the relationship begin to plan for it. Some pointers that give one a head start are: The Saving Kit: 1. Set back money and start looking for a safe place to go. Get a post office box as well as a safety deposit box. 2. Secure your own credit cards as well as any paperwork you need. (Birth certificates, social security cards, ID's, work visas, proof of citizenship, doctor records, pictures or evidence of abuse...etc) 3. Pick up a pre-paid cell phone. These are absolutely wonderful as they are virtually impossible to get a number for. They are easy replaced if something goes wrong. (The abuser can't get the number unless someone gives it to them.) Use this phone after you leave and turn off the old one. You do not want the temptation. 4. Before you go decide and follow the plan of escape: cover how, when, and where. Make sure you are going to have the conviction to leave for good. 5. Put aside clothes, medications, spare medical equipment, anything you use regularly. (daily) 6. Have a secure place away from your home to keep your saving kit. 7. Pick out and pack things the children will need. 8. If possible secure a home, apartment, or shelter to escape to at least 50 or more miles away from the abuser. Depending on the intensity of the abuse one may want to change states. Always secure an attorney immediately. The courts will take you more seriously when an attorney presents the case. Notice these are helpful suggestions. If your life is in danger - leave. Leave with the clothes on your back. You can start over and regain everything over time. You cannot regain your life if you loose it. |